1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an output distribution system, and more specifically to an apparatus, system, and method of output distribution each capable of specifying an output destination and distributing data for output to the specified output destination, and a recording medium storing an output distribution control program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the recent office environment, a plurality of image forming apparatuses such as multi-functional peripherals (MFPs) and laser printers is connected through a network to a plurality of client terminals through a server to form an output distribution system. As described in Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2010-286873A and 2010-157208A, when a request for printing is received from a user at a client terminal, the server of the output distribution system may specify an image forming apparatus, which is associated with the user or the client terminal of the user, as an output destination for print output.
The server of the background output distribution system is not always capable of correctly specifying an output destination using information indicating the user or the client terminal. For example, the recent office environment may include a thin client environment in which the user at a thin client terminal remotely accesses a desktop environment provided by the server through a terminal server. When the server communicates with the thin client terminal through the thin client environment, the server may not be able to obtain information indicating the thin client terminal currently operated by the user such that the output destination cannot be correctly identified.